Quiz: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Quiz: HowStuffWorks

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Quiz

About This Quiz

The ugly little space alien stole our hearts when he hit the big screen way back in the '80s. So how much do you remember about "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" all these years later?

What does E.T. stand for?

extra-terrestrial

"Entertainment Tonight"

Eastern time

E.T. stands for extra-terrestrial.

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What is the name of the boy who finds E.T.?

Elliott

Michael

Greg

Elliott, a 10-year-old boy, finds E.T. in his backyard shed after he's been left behind on Earth by his alien companions.

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What year was "E.T." released on the big screen?

1981

1982

1983

"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" was released in 1982 to rave reviews.

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Who was the director of "E.T.?"

Steven Spielberg

George Lucas

James Cameron

Director Steven Spielberg wrote much of the "E.T." script on location filming for "Raiders of the Lost Ark." He dictated the story to the movie's screenwriter, Melissa Mathison, between takes.

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What candy does Elliott use to lure E.T. out of the backyard shed?

Skittles

M&M's

Reese's Pieces

E.T. has a taste for Reese's Pieces and follows a trail of the sweet peanut butter treats right out of the shed.

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What are Elliott's siblings' names?

Gertie and Michael

Greg and Sally

Gertie and Alex

Elliott has an older brother named Michael and a younger sister named Gertie. They eventually help him hide E.T. from their mother.

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Who teaches E.T. to talk?

Elliott

Gertie

Michael

Gertie teaches E.T. to talk, and he finally says the most famous line of the movie: "E.T. phone home."

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What does E.T. use to create a device to "phone home?"

Speak & Spell

Etch A Sketch

Simon

E.T. used a Speak & Spell and other parts to send a message to his alien family to come back for him on Earth.

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The kids dress up E.T. in a disguise on Halloween. What is his costume?

a ghost

a skeleton

a ghoul

Michael and Elliott pretend E.T. is Gertie dressed as a ghost in an effort to take him to the woods to use the communications machine he has built.

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During the Halloween scene, E.T. gets excited when he sees someone dressed up like what?

Yoda

a cowboy

a pack of Reese's Pieces

E.T. gets excited and yells "Home! Home!" when he sees a kid in a Yoda costume. And here's some cool trivia: Perhaps Yoda and E.T. are from the same galaxy? In "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace," if you look hard enough, you'll find a group of E.T.'s race of aliens as part of the Galactic Senate.

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Debra Winger provided a temporary voice for E.T. but was also dressed up in the Halloween scene. What is her costume?

a monster mask and lab coat

Frankenstein's bride

Mrs. Claus

Winger is wearing a monster mask and a lab coat, and she's carrying a poodle.

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Besides Debra Winger, who else provides the voice for E.T.?

Californian Pat Welsh

Steven Spielberg

Ben Burtt

E.T.'s voice was provided by Pat Welsh, an elderly California woman who smoked two packets of cigarettes a day, which gave her voice a quality that sound effects creator Ben Burtt liked.

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What was the title of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" originally going to be?

"Lost on Earth"

"A Boy's Life"

"Phone Home"

The working title for the film was "A Boy's Life". It was changed during production.

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How old was Drew Barrymore when she played the role of Gertie?

9

8

7

Barrymore was just 7 years old when she landed the role of Elliott's sister Gertie.

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What actress played the role of Mary, Elliott's mother?

Dee Wallace Stone

JoBeth Williams

Kathleen Turner

Dee Wallace Stone played Elliott's mother Mary. She has numerous movie and television credits, including 1981's "The Howling."

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What does Gertie give to E.T. as a farewell gift before he's finally rescued by his kind and departs Earth?

a Speak & Spell

her cowboy hat

the potted geranium

Gertie gives E.T. the potted geranium, and he tells her to be good.

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What actor played Elliott's school principal in a scene that was cut from the film?

Harrison Ford

Dustin Hoffman

John Travolta

Steven Spielberg decided to cut the scene with Harrison Ford because he thought it would be too distracting to moviegoers.

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When "E.T." was released in June of 1982, what movie did it overtake to become the highest-grossing film of all time?

"The Sound of Music"

"Jaws"

"Star Wars"

Once released on the big screen, "E.T." would overtake "Star Wars" to become the highest-grossing film of all time.

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How long did "E.T." remain the highest-grossing film of all time?

11 years

15 years

22 years

"E.T." held the box office record as highest-grossing film of all time for 11 years, until 1993, when it was beaten by another Steven Spielberg film, "Jurassic Park."

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When Michael finds E.T. near death in the river, what animal runs away right as Michael approaches E.T.?

squirrel

raccoon

deer

When Elliott stays out all night with E.T. on Halloween to try to help him call for his spaceship, Elliott thinks the device doesn't work, when actually it does. But E.T. is left alone in the woods and when Michael goes out and finds him near-death by the creek, there's a raccoon next to his body.

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True or false? The doctors that work on "E.T." in the movie are actual doctors.

1

0

True! Director Steven Spielberg decided to have real doctors, instead of actors, in scenes where Elliott and E.T. required medical attention to make them appear as real as possible.

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True or false? The iconic shot of Elliott and E.T. flying across the full moon was mostly real.

1

0

True. Visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and his team at Industrial Light and Magic used maps and charts to find a good location to shoot a low moon among trees and coordinated the scene once they found the right spot. In the shot, puppets of were added with special effects in post-production, but the rest is real.

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When the group of government agents that track E.T. down think he is dead, how does Elliott know he's actually alive?

The flower starts to bloom again.

His chest starts to glow.

He opens his eyes.

The flower that was dead begins to bloom again so Elliott knows E.T. is not actually dead.

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When Elliott and his friends get E.T. back to his spaceship, what are the last words E.T. says to Elliott?

"I'll be right here."

"E.T. phone home."

"Be good."

E.T. asks Elliott to come with him, but Elliott tells E.T. to stay. "I'll be right here," E.T. says while pointing his finger at Elliott's head.

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What does E.T.'s spaceship leave behind when it takes off with him on board?

rain clouds

a rainbow

stars

In the final scene, the spaceship takes off, leaving a rainbow behind in its wake.

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How many awards was "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" nominated for?

more than 80

more than 50

more than 20

"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" was nominated for more than 80 awards, and won more than 50 of those, including the Oscar for Best Music, Original Score; Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Effects, Visual Effects; and Best Sound.

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"E.T." was nominated for nine Oscars at the 55th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, but lost both to what movie?

"Ghandi"

"Tootsie"

"The Verdict"

"Ghandi" won the Oscar for Best Picture while Richard Attenborough won for Best Director for "Ghandi." Even Attenborough said he felt "E.T." should have won.

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Is E.T. male of female?

male

female

neither

Steven Spielberg stated in an interview that E.T. was actually a plant-like creature and neither male or female.

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What president did director Steven Spielberg personally screen the film for at the White House?

Ronald Reagan

George H.W. Bush

Jimmy Carter

Spielberg screened the film at the White House with President Ronald Reagan and first Lady Nancy Reagan.

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Spielberg came up with a sequel to "E.T." called "E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears," which never went anywhere. In it he revealed E.T.'s real name. What was it?

Zrek

Kobo

Lotty

Thank goodness the sequel never got off the ground. The storyline had Elliott and his friends kidnapped by other aliens with E.T., whose real name is Zrek, coming to their rescue. (Really?)

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